Three Studies of the Head of an Old Man

These Three Studies of the Head of an Old Man, painted around 1640 and held in Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford, are character studies that demonstrate the Carracci school's ongoing commitment to drawing and painting from life throughout Domenichino's career. Such multi-study sheets, showing the same model from different angles, were fundamental exercises in the academic tradition that the Carracci established. They served both as training tools and as reference material for composing larger narrative paintings requiring varied expressive types.

The three studies capture the same elderly model from different angles, demonstrating Domenichino's command of naturalistic portrait technique and expressive variety. The warm, direct handling and careful observation of aging features reflect the Carracci emphasis on studying nature as the foundation of artistic practice.